Sport: FootballInducted: 1979Country: United StatesBorn: March 18, 1905
in Cleveland, OhioDied: November 1982

As quarterback and halfback of the
University of Michigan Wolverines
from 1924 to 1926, Benny Friedman
was football’s first great passer. The
consummate triple threat man (runner,
passer, kicker), he was named a
first team All-American in 1925 and
1926.

Friedman moved easily from the
college gridiron to professional football
stardom. He was All-Pro from 1927 to
1931, playing seven pro seasons beginning
with the Cleveland Bulldogs in his
rookie year. In 1928, Friedman starred
for the Detroit Wolverines, then for the
New York Giants from 1929 to 1931.
The Giants purchased the entire Detroit
team in order to acquire the contract of
Friedman, and the $10,000 the New
Yorkers paid him made Benny the
highest paid player in the pro ranks. He
finished his playing career with the
Brooklyn Dodgers’ football team from
1932 to 1934.

Benny’s multiple talents had a lasting
effect on the evolution of the sport.
Sparked by his example, football
changed from a straightforward running
contest to the modern pass-andrun
game. Not the least of the many
Friedman-inspired innovations was the slenderizing of the
football itself, to take
better advantage of the forward pass.

In 1934, Friedman took the head
coaching reins at City College of New
York, a job he held until he joined the
U.S. Navy in 1941. During the years
1949 to 1963, he served as head football
coach and athletic director at Brandeis
University in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Benny was one of the first to be
elected to the College Football Hall of
Fame. He was
elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in
2005.